I have a love-hate relationship with my bank. I think most people do. They’re so adept at making us feel safeguarded, part of a community, and like the world is our oyster. If only we would just bank with them, we could have it all. And then there’s the homogenous ubiquity of them. I love it. My bank looks the exact same in any town, in any country, anywhere in the world. When I lived in Moscow, where you genuinely run the risk of having a store clerk curse you out because you tried to pay with a credit card instead of the preferred cash, finding an ATM nestled in the warm, blue glow of my big American Citibank gave me an overwhelming sense of comfort.

Ahhhhh | www.mybanktracker.com

And then there’s that other feeling. The one that many people on the planet have felt at least once over the course of the past decade. YOU M*****F****** LYING FAT CAT THIEVES!! Or something along those lines...Whether you got screwed in one of the multitude of credit crunches around the globe or noticed that you were suddenly being charged a sizeable monthly fee just for having a checking account (You’re going to charge ME for giving you MY money that YOU lend out and make interest on!!!???), you probably started to become a bit distrustful of the banking industry.

Well, I can’t say that those feelings aren’t warranted. However, I can say that over the last few years, a number of banks have been making concerted efforts to improve the mark they leave on the global community. Look no further than Citibank’s recent announcement to invest an unprecedented $100 billion USD over the next 10 years to reduce the impacts of climate change. That’s 100 BILLION DOLLARS for green initiatives and sustainable growth, ranging from green housing and infrastructure, to renewable energy, to energy-efficient factories. Not to mention using some of that money to reduce Citibank’s own environmental footprint.

Wait, what? Did the CEO of Citibank just become Captain Planet!?

PLEASE tell me you guys know who this is, I can’t be that old… | www.collider.com

Not exactly...but it’s still a killer initiative. At the end of the day, banks follow the money. It’s like a law of physics, might as well add it to the textbooks. But what this demonstrates is a huge demand for sustainable investing!

“Our clients are demanding it, our clients’ clients are demanding it, our clients’ investors are demanding it. There is a momentum and focus on solving big global societal problems that everybody is rallying to,” says Valerie Smith, Citibank’s director of corporate sustainability (emphasis added).

Music to my ears.

Citibank isn’t the only one jumping on this train. In 2013, Bank of America and Wells Fargo each announced they will spend $50bn on sustainability projects and green transportation.

So why start now? What’s driving this massive interest in sustainable investing? For starters, as short-sighted as many investors, companies, and governments can be, there is a general acknowledgement that the world can not continue to operate as it currently does. Many businesses and investors are jumping to be ahead of the curve, so that they can clean up - monetarily AND environmentally (omg I didn’t even try with that pun) - when the tide turns.  The World Economic Forum estimates that the transition from a fossil-fuel economy to a “clean” economy will require $1 trillion USD in investments each year for the next 20 years. If you’re smart, you’ll want to be a part of that.

Disregard the creepy propaganda vibe of this pic, it’s completely over the top and I love it. | www.greenafricadirectory.org

This is the fundamental reasoning behind the concept of Making Money While Playing Nice. You can make a lot of money helping the world grow into a better version of itself.

What’s one way to get started? Green bonds. They’re pretty much what they sound like, bonds that go towards financing environmentally-friendly investments, like renewable energy or cleaner transportation. Plus they’re tax exempt, unlike most bonds, making them even more attractive.

Here are some examples of projects funded by green bonds:

In Indonesia: A geothermal project that provides affordable, clean energy while also reducing the amount of greenhouse gases pumped into the air by 1.1 million tons a year.

In China: Energy-efficient factories that decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 4 million tons a year.

In Mexico: A massive solar power facility that supplies 164,000 people with clean energy, and provides lots of great, local jobs.

The times they are a changin, and thankfully the big drivers of the global economic system (banks) are recognizing this and getting involved. While this doesn’t give them carte blanche to act like jerks the rest of the time, acknowledging the need to provide financing for sustainable development projects and actually following through on that is a massive support for the global movement towards a more sustainable world. So on that note, I’ve got two words for you, Citibank: well done.

Disclaimer: Citi is a major, year long partner of Global Citizen and Global Poverty Project, including for Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day and Global Citizen Festival